Amnesty International: Russia's bombing in Syria may be a war crime

People
inspecting a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes
carried out by the Russian air force in Idlib city, Syria, on
Sunday.Ammar
Abdullah/Reuters

Russia's bombing of Syria may amount to a war crime because of
the number of civilians its strikes have killed, Amnesty
International said on Wednesday, presenting what it said was
evidence that the air raids had violated humanitarian law.

"Russian airstrikes in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians
and caused massive destruction in residential areas, striking
homes, a mosque, and a busy market, as well as medical
facilities, in ... attacks that show evidence of violations of
international humanitarian law," Amnesty said in a new report.

Russia started its campaign of airstrikes against militants in
Syria on September 30, saying it wanted to help the Kremlin's
main Middle East ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, defeat
Islamic State and other militant groups.

It has repeatedly and forcefully denied targeting civilians,
saying it takes great care to avoid bombing residential areas.

When asked by Reuters to comment on the Amnesty allegations, the
Russian Defense Ministry said it had no immediate comment, while
the Russian Foreign Ministry said it first needed to study the
report before giving any official reaction.

Amnesty, whose charges echoed those of some Syrian observers,
said Russian airstrikes had killed at least 200 civilians and
around a dozen fighters from September to November of this year.

It said its report, which focused on six attacks in Homs, Idlib,
and Aleppo, was based on interviews with witnesses and survivors,
as well as on video evidence and images showing the aftermath of
attacks.

The Russian strikes "appear to have directly attacked civilians
or civilian objects by striking residential areas with no evident
military target and even medical facilities," Philip Luther,
director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Amnesty
International, said in a statement.